Page 113 of A Thief Among Fae

“Enough.” Desmond steps between us. “Auri, you don’t tell Finnian off for his quips.”

“That’s because he’s one of us!” She dismisses me with a dramatic swerve of her head, then looks at Desmond. Their gazes silently communicate in a way that only a deep bond allows. For a heartbeat, I’m envious.

Desmond sighs. “We’re running out of daylight. Three of us will ride in the carriage. One will lead on horseback. The fifth will take the rear as a lookout.”

Auri nods. “I’ll take the rear.”

“I’ll lead,” Desmond says, and I get the sense he was set on it before announcing the plan. “Let’s get into position.”

I fist my hands, wishing I were strong enough to take the rear. Yet I can’t even dream of surpassing a fae. Auri is lithe, has decades of training to surpass mine, and she’s a Great. I’ll always be an Average, no matter how much I train.

When I get into the carriage, my turmoil must be visible because Finnian whistles low as he and Min enter behind me. “Don’t worry. She tells me to shut up occasionally,” he says.

“You know it’s not the same,” I snap.

He startles. “What?”

I force my breathing to slow. “You didn’t deserve that. It’s just. . . Is she like this toward all humans? Or just me?”

Finnian’s gloves squeak as his hands fidget. He lowers his voice. “All of them, I suppose. You don’t easily forget being hunted and tortured by another kingdom.”

His words stun me, and suddenly I don’t feel so affronted. I know she’s bitter about the war and that she’s part of Deitra’s forbidden army, but to be hunted and tortured. . . I shudder. No wonder she hates humans.

“Fall silent,” Desmond calls out from the horses. “I’m bringing us into the pass.”

Min stares out the window with feline stillness. Auri walks behind the carriage as the horses tread at a slow pace. I don’t like Desmond’s plan. If the lindwyrm is sensitive to vibrations, every creak of our carriage wheels and the heavy clop of hooves will be enough to alert one, no matter how slow we travel. We should’ve found another way to cross the Krelthar Mountains.

My shoulders tense as I recite a prayer to Elowyn. I’ve never put much faith in devotions, but gods, if this isn’t the time for some divine intervention.

On the left side of the path is a deep ditch, wavering between steep slopes and sheer drops. Our right is blocked by the towering mountainside. I hold my breath as we pass the first four tunnels. When we round the bend, and nothing rushes out, I dare to hope. Maybe it’s not hungry. Maybe Elowyn listened to my prayers.

A crack echoes, followed by the horses’ panicked cries. The carriage jostles. What happened? I lean out the window and look ahead. The left stretch of the path is eroded underneath Aether’s front hoof.

“It heard,” Min murmurs.

“What heard?” Finnian asks, his hushed voice squeaky.

A low hiss prickles my skin. From a tunnel on our right, a sound like shifting gravel echoes.

“Auri, get in the carriage!” Desmond shouts.

“I can get a clear shot here!” she argues.

We won’t be alive long enough for it to matter. If we don’t move, we won’t be utilizing the one advantage we have—speed.

The beast bursts out of the tunnel, rock and debris tumbling. It’s gigantic, with the head of a dragon and the body of a serpent. Two clawed legs extend from its front half, bracing its weight against the mountainside. It rears back, neck undulating, and screeches so loud that it thrums through my chest.

“Shit!” Finnian yelps.

Auri shoots. The arrow harmlessly plinks against its brown scales, but the lightning she calls to it would be lethal to a lesser beast. The lindwyrm flinches, a patch of its scales now blackened and smoking. Its reptilian eyes narrow on Auri in rage.

“If I can strike inside its mouth, it’s as good as dead,” she calls out.

Good as dead? We’re dead once it reaches us. I don’t care how powerful she thinks she is. This beast isn’t a draugr or a fomorian. It’s an infallible predator.

I lean out the window and yell to Auri, “Climb the carriage!”

She ignores me, aiming her bow.